Russian attack on Kyiv kills at least 13

Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight into Thursday, killing at least 13 people and damaging homes and civilian infrastructure across the Ukrainian capital, city officials said, as explosions echoed for hours and residents crowded into metro stations for shelter.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 13 people were killed and 86 injured in the attack. NPR reported earlier that Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko had put the death toll at 11, with Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, saying 54 people were injured, including two children. Officials warned the toll could rise as rescuers continued searching damaged buildings.

The attack involved ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, Ukrainian authorities said. Tkachenko said damage was recorded in 30 locations across Kyiv, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. Klymenko said 20 residential buildings were damaged.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strike hit what it called key military plants in Kyiv, according to Reuters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials had issued warnings before the attack, sending many residents into underground metro stations. Afterward, Zelenskyy asked Washington for a license to make Patriot missiles, Agence France-Presse reported.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Ukraine’s allies to move faster on air defense support after what he called a “night of horror” in Kyiv. Writing on X, he called on partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defense systems and missiles.

Klitschko told residents to remain in shelters during what he described as an ongoing “furious enemy attack.” Among the injured, he said, was a paramedic in extremely critical condition in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where Ukraine’s Emergency Service said a hotel and two five-story residential buildings were damaged.

The damage stretched across the capital. In the Desnianskyi district, people were trapped inside a damaged nine-story residential building as rescuers headed to the scene, Klitschko said. Tkachenko said a residential building there was partially destroyed.

In Holosiivskyi, a fire broke out on the roof of a 16-story building, the Emergency Service said. In Sviatoshynskyi, two private residences caught fire and debris trapped people in one of them, according to the mayor and emergency officials.

In Darnytskyi, six levels of a nine-story building collapsed after a Russian strike and another five-story residential building was damaged, Klitschko said. The Emergency Service said a 16-story building and private residences were also damaged in the district.

Tkachenko said fires broke out near residential buildings at two locations in Pecherskyi and near an administrative building in Solomianskyi. Authorities were also recording damage in the Obolonskyi and Podilskyi districts.

Beyond the city, Kyiv Regional Administration head Mykola Kalashnyk said damage was reported in five regional districts. Three people were injured in Bucha district, he said.

Ukraine’s Emergency Service said nearly 500 personnel and 100 units of specialized vehicles, including a helicopter, were deployed to respond to the attack.

Russia has intensified attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, while Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines inside Russia. Sybiha rejected any attempt to portray Russian strikes as retaliation, saying Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter while Russia remained the aggressor.